Extreme Sailing Series Singapur. Acto final con dos nuevos equipos

Team TILT © Lloyd Images

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Strong line-up for final Act in Singapore boosted by additional entries…
October 31st 2011

The final and ninth Act of the global 2011 Extreme Sailing Series™ will be played by 10 Extreme 40 teams out on the waters of Marina Bay in Singapore between the 7th – 11th December (the 9th-11th constituting the public days of the event). The iconic Singapore Flyer providing a stunning backdrop to what will be a dramatic end of season match to claim the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series Overall Championship.

The penultimate Act in Almería, Spain was won by the Swiss team Alinghi, whilst Luna Rossa’s 2nd place elevated the Italian team to the top of the 2011 overall rankings, just a single point ahead of the all-French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. These two teams will be fighting for overall victory and behind them, six teams will be locked in a close battle to claim third place on the podium.
The Extreme 40 fleet will be boosted by two further entries from France and Switzerland alongside the regular teams of Luna Rossa, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Emirates Team New Zealand, Alinghi, The Wave Muscat, Red Bull Extreme Sailing, Oman Air and Team GAC Pindar.
A new team supported by Stéphane Kandler, SOITEC and the first club™, named Team Extreme - the first club™, comes with a strong French crew line-up of Sébastien Col (skipper/mainsail trimmer), Jean-Christophe Mourniac (helmsman), Franck Citeau (trimmer) and Christophe André (bowman), all well known for their multihull expertise. The team will be managed by Bruno Dubois who is more than familiar with the challenges of competing in the highly competitive Extreme 40 field. “I’m very glad to help this crew to step into this catamaran top-level circuit,” said Stéphane Kandler, K-Challenge’s CEO. “The goal being to have a long-term view and to continue for the 2012 season and beyond, as it is a real opportunity for the future. Sailing multihulls is really becoming a ‘must-have’ regatta format. We have then decided to follow this logic, as it is important to focus on all the high level sailing formats, which is what we’ve been doing since 20 years.”

In addition, Alex Schneiter’s Team TILT will compete in Singapore after their debut at Act 8 in Almería. The Swiss team headed up by Schneiter includes Nicolas Heintz on bow, helmsman Charles Favre and a new addition in the form of tactician Arnaud Psarofaghis, a multihull specialist also competing in the AC45 World Series and previous European Moth Champion: “Almería was for us a great experience,” said Schneiter. “Competing against so many talented people in high performance boats is a privilege that you don’t experience every day! The race format, as well as the overall organisation, is just amazing. There is constant pressure on the water and not only we did have to adapt to this new environment but we had to play catch up a lot with the other teams present in the circuit since January. We are excited to be back with the Extreme 40 fleet in Singapore and eager to be in the starting blocks!”.

Extreme Sailing Series 2011
Overall standings after 8 Acts
Position / Team / Points

1st Luna Rossa 69 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 68 points
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand 60 points
4th Alinghi 59 points
5th The Wave, Muscat 57 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing 53 points
7th Artemis Racing 48 points
8th Oman Air 47 points
9th Team GAC Pindar 29 points
10th Niceforyou 18 points
11th Team Extreme 18 points

La Extreme Sailing Series y su cámara voladora

Foto copyright Jose Maria Perez Segura

Foto copyright Jose Maria Perez Segura

Foto copyright Jose Maria Perez Segura

Gracias al lector Jose María Perez Segura deAlmería por las fotos. Un artilugio radiocontrolado para filmaciones aéreas, un truco que seguramente ya se ha usado en otros deportes pero yo al menos es la primera vez que lo veo en la vela. Bien por la Extreme Sailing Series que seguramente no tiene los recursos de la America´s Cup para usar helicópteros y se las rebusca con este "plan B".

ESS Almería para Alinghi

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

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16 October 2011

Alinghi Win Act 8 in Almeria, Luna Rossa Lead the 2011 Rankings Going into the Final

It came down to the wire in the final double points race to determine the podium places of Act 8 in Almeria. Going into the final race the Swiss team of Alinghi were in a strong position to claim overall victory, only a major faux pas would have prevented what was rightfully theirs after such a strong performance over the last five days and 32 races. In the end, Tanguy Cariou’s team on Alinghi secured victory by one of the biggest points margins of 22 points over Italy’s Luna Rossa in 2nd place: “We are really happy to have at least one win this year,” said Alinghi skipper, Tanguy Cariou. “We tried to manage the risks today, we had good boat speed and good team work. It is great for us to have a win here, I am really happy for Yann and the whole crew. It is really good to show the teams that we can make it.”

However, the fight for second was by the closest of margins with Luna Rossa holding off Ben Ainslie’s Oman Air by just one point: “For me it was my first experience of multihull racing and I have learnt a huge amount, which for me is probably more important to me personally than the end result,” said Ainslie. “To finish on the podium for the second time in three events is a great team effort. It is a very high level of competition and when you look at the people on board the other boats, they are all extremely accomplished sailors. They are fighting for every inch and with the type of racing that we do it ends up being very tight as the races are so short, and invariably you end up with collisions and action creating some exciting racing! It’s been fantastic sailing with the team. Now it’s time for me to get focused on the Olympics.”

Almeria has for the last two years hosted the final of the Extreme Sailing Series championship. This year the Spanish round, attended by an estimated audience just shy of 70,000 spectators, has set the stage for the final in Singapore between the 7th-11th December. And it is Max Sirena’s team who now lead the overall 2011 rankings by just one point: “We now have a month before the boats get to Singapore and to be in the lead for that month is fantastic,” said Luna Rossa helmsman, Britain’s Paul Campbell-James. “It’s good to have the mental advantage of being in the lead going into the final Act.”

Ian Williams’ Team GAC Pindar scored their best ever result of 2011 with a 4th place here in Almeria, stealing it from Groupe Edmond de Rothschild on the final upwind beat in the final race. It was a tough day for the French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who had been in contention for the podium throughout the event. But Pierre Pennec’s team is still in the game for the Extreme Sailing Series ultimate victory – on 68 points for the season with Luna Rossa on 69. Emirates Team New Zealand was given redress after yesterday’s crash and maintained 6th place ahead of double-Act winner The Wave, Muscat. Leigh McMillan’s team were struggling to find their form in the light air Acts. Red Bull Extreme Sailing also had a tough end of regatta – Roman Hagara’s crew still had everything to play for, lying in 8th overall, going into the final race but it was not to be.

The points have never been tighter and the final positions can be harsher looking than the reality of the competition. Whilst the frontrunners held their own private battle for the podium, it allowed others to shine through here on the final day. Alex Schneiter’s debut in the Extreme 40 circuit was rewarded with two race wins today, and they ended Act 8 in a respectable 9th place, four points ahead of Roland Gaebler’s Team Extreme and Alberto Barovier’s Niceforyou team on 135 points, his team enjoying a morale-boosting race win in the penultimate race.

But the applause goes to skipper Tanguy Cariou, helmsman Yann Guichard, trimmer Nils Frei and bowman Yves Detrey for Alinghi’s victory in Almeria – their first win of the season. Luna Rossa is now top the season’s leaderboard and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild will push them to the limit in Singapore. And there will be a very tight fight behind them for third place, with six teams able to fill that podium place for the 2011 season. Singapore will be a great battle!

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after 32 races (16.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 254 points
2nd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 233 points
3rd Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 232 points
4th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brad Webb 218 points
5th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 216 points
6th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Ray Davies / Jeremy Lomas / Derek Seward 213.5 points
7th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 209points
8th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 202 points
9th Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter / Boet Brinkgreve / Charles Favre / Nicolas Heintz 155 points
10th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Antón Paz / Tom Buggy 151 points
11th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 135 points

Extreme Sailing Series 2011
Overall standings after 8 Acts
Position / Team / Points

1st Luna Rossa 69 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 68 points
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand 60 points
4th Alinghi 59 points
5th The Wave, Muscat 57 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing 53 points
7th Artemis Racing 48 points
8th Oman Air 47 points
9th Team GAC Pindar 29 points
10th Niceforyou 18 points
11th Team Extreme 18 points

ESS Almería día 4, Alinghi lider y ETNZ termina con el barco roto

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

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15 October 2011

Emirates Team New Zealand Holed in Crash on Penultimate Day of Act 8, Almeria

On a day when the wind arrived in Almeria, bringing up to 18 knots, the action ramped up a few gears. The spectators were treated to a spectacular display of Extreme 40 close combat racing inside the stadium of the port of Almeria. The Swiss team of Alinghi lead overall scoring three firsts and three seconds in the ten races today – Tanguy Cariou’s team head into the final day of Act 8 with an 18 point advantage over Italy’s Luna Rossa and any of the top seven teams are still in contention for a podium place here at the penultimate Act of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series.

The public who came to watch today saw over four hours of full-on racing, the 11 Extreme 40 teams were competing within touching distance of the shore and each other, hulls flying with gennakers up and a two boat smash in the penultimate race. The victims, Emirates Team New Zealand hit by Groupe Edmond de Rothschild – the sound of the collision stopped the crowd in their tracks and ended the Kiwis day with a gaping hole in the stern of their port hull. Back on shore the damage also proved to extensive to repair overnight and Act 8 is over for Adam Beashel’s team: “We were comfortably sailing on starboard tack with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild sailing behind us and we were not paying much attention to them as we were assuming they would dip us,” said Beashel. “It was only at the last second that I saw them bow down behind us, trying to get behind but there just wasn’t any room. There was a loud bang and a collision and they went into our transom. Unfortunately it’s not going to be an overnight fix either so this is the end of the regatta for us. The boat can be fixed before Singapore and we can only hope that we have done enough in the interim and let the jury decide how it is best decided on from here. Hopefully, it will turn into something salvageable for the season.”

The 11 Extreme 40 teams are pushing their machines to the limit for victory and today saw a number of teams jumping the start line. In this game it can all be about the start, but get it wrong and the punishment is severe. It was about slick crew work and staying out of trouble, for some that was not possible. “Luna Rossa were on our right and we were trying to avoid the collision as much as we can, but Luna Rossa is not giving us any water and we can’t avoid the contact with Emirates Team New Zealand,” said Pennec. “I went to discuss with CJ [Paul Campbell-James helmsman on Luna Rossa] when we were back on the pontoon because we are all making some mistakes on the water, but there is no point to break the boats. I’m not really happy and I’m really sorry for Emirates Team New Zealand.”

The battle lines for the final day of Act 8 are drawn and tensions are high. The leaderboard is close but the sailors focus less on the points than the overall strategy for victory as Luna Rossa’s skipper Max Sirena explained: “The objective for today was really to sail better than yesterday when we made some big mistakes which cost us a lot of points. Luckily today the conditions were great with some strong wind and flying hulls, which we haven’t done for a long time. We had a few tight situations with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and a few other guys, but we managed pretty well to come out clean. We are surprised to be second but tomorrow is the final day and there are still a lot of points to fight for.”

The action came thick and fast today in a mix of open water and stadium racing as Beashel explained: “It’s quite a lot when you are racing in such a confined spot, with brick walls on three sides… A lot of things start to happen pretty quickly and the boat speeds are a lot quicker, and as you can see when you have accidents at speed the results can be pretty damaging. It’s all part of the game when you come to venues like this and it’s fantastic for the spectators but it is pretty nerve-wracking sailing for us! Trying to duck and weave your way in and out of the boats trying to tactically position yourself to come out in front and at the same time trying to avoid any damage.”

Overnight leaders, Team GAC Pindar, were knocked off the top spot by the second race of the day by Alinghi – Ian Williams’ team tumbled to 7th in the rankings by the end of play. Others reveled in the breeze with Leigh McMillan’s The Wave, Muscat, Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing and Ben Ainslie on Oman Air all scoring race wins but it was the consistency that paid off for Alinghi. With 43 points separating the top 7 teams and potentially over a 100 points up for grabs with a double-points final race, anything can still happen. At the other end of the leaderboard, Roland Gaebler’s Team Extreme with Spanish Tornado Olympic medalist Anton Paz on board is in a close battle with the other Italian team, Niceforyou skippered by Alberto Barovier, as Alex Schneiter’s team on the new Team Tilt are still getting up to speed here in their debut. As the wise Max Sirena predicted: “Nothing is set yet!”

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after races (24.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 187 points
2nd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 169 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 162 points
4th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 159 points
5th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 157 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 155 points
7th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brad Webb 144 points
8th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Ray Davies / Jeremy Lomas / Derek Seward 142 points
9th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Antón Paz / Tom Buggy 100 points
10th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 94 points
11th Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter / Boet Brinkgreve / Charles Favre / Nicolas Heintz 93 points

ESS Almería día 3, Team GAC Pindar toma el control

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

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14th October 2011

Team GAC Pindar Top the Leaderboard for the First Time

ISAF World Match Racing Champion, Ian Williams, has helmed Team GAC Pindar to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of Act 8 in Almeria. This is the first time his team has ever led the overall standings in the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series global tour.

The third day of the penultimate round in Spain, ahead of the final in Singapore, saw three different teams take the lead throughout the afternoon. Five races were completed today – two in open water and three inside the port of Almeria in stadium mode. Ben Ainslie helming Oman Air went into day 3 leading but nothing seemed to go there way today, and Emirates Team New Zealand pounced with Adam Beashel’s team taking the top spot after the first race held in open water in a reasonable sea breeze. The Kiwis fended their position, despite not scoring a race win and losing a crew overboard in the second race, whilst Alinghi and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild dominated at the front with two wins for the Swiss team and a victory for the French. But always in the background was Team GAC Pindar sailing strongly – a 4th, 5th, then a second, gaining their momentum until they were on equal points with Emirates Team New Zealand at the top. Tanguy Cariou’s team, driven by Yann Guichard, won the second stadium race in light airs and leap-frogged into the lead.

Going into the final stadium race of the day, Alinghi and Team GAC Pindar were on 89 points each and further down the leaderboard the points situation could not have been closer with only 1 or 2 points separating the top 8 boats in a tactical game of snakes and ladders throughout the afternoon. The faltering sea breeze seemed to recognize the importance of the final day’s race and revived itself to allow the boats to show a good turn of speed on the short course. The Wave, Muscat and Team Tilt got a flying start ahead of Team GAC Pindar whilst Alinghi got stuck mid-fleet off the start, and that was that. Wiliams’ team was away and never looked back, 3rd place enough to take the lead going into the penultimate day of Act 8 tomorrow: “It was a really good day for us and we finished on the top half of every single race today,” said Williams. “For sure we will be fighting to try to retain the lead. Looking at the points it’s almost like a restart. We were 20 points behind last night and now we are 2 points ahead the second boat. It’s extremely tight, we will going down to the wire!”

The weekend crowd is in for a treat as the forecast is showing a significant turning up of the wind speed dial for tomorrow and on Sunday the final battle will be played out to determine who wins in Almeria, and who will lead the 2011 Championship rankings going into the final Act. “Obviously with only two days to go we know by experience that anything can happen,” said Alinghi skipper, Tanguy Cariou. “We’re happy with that position tonight but we know that it will be even harder to keep it than to get it…” He is right about that – the all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, the Italians on Luna Rossa, the Kiwis on Emirates Team New Zealand and the Brits on Team GAC Pindar will be fighting them all the way…

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after 14 races (14.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brad Webb 98 points
2nd Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 95 points
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 93 points
4th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Ray Davies / Jeremy Lomas / Derek Seward 90 points
5th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 88 points
6th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 85 points
7th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 84 points
8th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 80 points
9th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Antón Paz / Tom Buggy 70 points
10th Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter / Boet Brinkgreve / Charles Favre / Nicolas Heintz 62 points
11th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 59 points

ESS Almería día 2

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13th October 2011

Second Day Reshuffles Act 8 Leaderboard, and Watch Programme 4 on TV…

The second day of Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 8 in Almeria, Spain, was a mixed affair of four open water races staged outside the port of Almeria and a stadium race inside the harbour which led to some dream starts and some nightmare endings… The wind gods were initially kind bringing 6 knots of sea breeze, although this died away to 4 knots, and as the 11 boat Extreme 40 fleet started the final stadium race it blew its last breath as the sailors did their best to complete the short course. The good news is that more breeze is on its way for tomorrow and Saturday which will bring alive the stadium action for the Spanish public.

The fourth programme of the 6-part Extreme Sailing Series TV series has been released with all the action from Boston, Cowes and Trapani, and will first air on CNBC across Europe and Asia at 17h30 CET on Saturday, 15th October, see more details below…

For the Swiss team Alinghi, skippered by Tanguy Cariou, the start of the second day went like a dream winning three races in a row that temporarily elevated them to fourth in the rankings, from 9th yesterday: “Everything was perfect in the first three races, from the starts to tactics and boat speed, we couldn’t really dream of a better scenario,” said Tanguy Cariou. “Unfortunately, the stadium race didn’t work as well for us. It seems difficult to find the right way to work as a team, to find our rhythm.” Alinghi ran out of time to complete the final stadium race. But Cariou remains optimistic: “In terms of wind, the worst is behind us. We should have good sailing conditions from tomorrow, which we are all looking forward to.”

Ben Ainslie’s team on Oman Air keep hold of the top spot after the five races today which is pretty impressive considering this is all pretty new for the three-time Olympic gold medalist: “This is a massive learning curve for me,” said Ainslie. “It’s the first time I have sailed multihulls so I am learning something new each day which is very rewarding.” Emirates Team New Zealand, helmed by Adam Beashel, managed to keep in the mix all day and their hard work was rewarded as they climbed into 2nd place, only 3 points behind Oman Air.

Leigh McMillan’s crew on The Wave, Muscat, also had a rewarding day claiming the final stadium race, their first race win since Act 6 in Trapani, and climbed four places on the leaderboard: “Finally, we got out of our rut that we have been in since the last event in Nice,” said McMillan. “We just put things back together today, and we are back on the right side of the pressure and it went our way. So it’s really nice to actually finish the day with some good results and be in the race for this event.” The Omani team is now in fourth place overall in the standings from 8th place yesterday, 5 points behind Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. Ian Williams’ Team GAC Pindar gained one place on the leaderboard with their 5th place in the last race ahead of Max Sirena’s Luna Rossa who dropped to 6th place in the standings, despite winning the penultimate race.

Roman Hagara’s team on Red Bull Extreme Sailing had a bit of a nightmare day on the water with a 10th, 8th and like Luna Rossa ran out of time in the final race, and the team now find themselves lying in 8th place overall ahead of Team Extreme in 9th, who enjoyed their best race result in the regatta so far with a third place: “We will see how it goes with more wind, which is the forecast for tomorrow,” said Team Extreme Spanish trimmer Anton Paz. “These boats are big and the effort is titanic so we have had a bit of a truce with light breeze over the last couple of days. With more wind it will be non stop on board!” The new Team Tilt is bottom of the leaderboard, not surprising in their class debut, but enjoyed a rewarding 2nd place race result in the third race of the day.

With three days remaining at Act 8 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Almeria and more breeze forecast, there is plenty of action to come.

The fourth programme of the 6-part Extreme Sailing Series TV series has been released and will first air on CNBC across Europe and Asia at 17h30 CET on Saturday, 15th October. The half-hour programme covers all the action from Boston, where ‘home-town boy’ Terry Hutchinson on Artemis lost in the final race to the Dean Barker’s Kiwi crew on Emirates Team Newland Zealand. Cowes delivered plenty of breeze and drama including a spectacular capsize by the Aberdeen Asset Management team, and then Trapani which saw Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie make a successful debut in the circuit. Up to 20 broadcasters around the world are broadcasting the TV series this year including Eurosport, Channel 4 (UK), Sport+ (France), Bloomberg and TRT (Turkey). Transmissions dates for programme 4 are also available for Band Sports (Brazil), TVNZ (New Zealand) Canal+ (France), Nelonen (Finalnd) and TV2 (Denmark), visit the TV schedule page on the website for more details. Some broadcasters, like Channel 4 in the UK, are opting to show the 6-part programmes back to back and will broadcast the whole series towards the end of the year.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after 9 races (13.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 72 points
2nd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Ray Davies / Jeremy Lomas / Derek Seward 69 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 64 points
4th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 60 points
5th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brad Webb 55 points
6th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 54 points
7th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 52 points
8th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 48 points
9th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 41 points
10th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Antón Paz / Tom Buggy 40 points
11th Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter / Boet Brinkgreve / Charles Favre / Nicolas Heintz 32 points

ESS Almería día 1, Ben Ainslie con Oman Air al frente

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

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12th October 2011

Tactical Racing In Front of Thousands on Opening Day of Act 8, Almeria

The public literally arrived in their thousands on the opening day of the Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 8 in Almeria, making the most of Spain’s national Bank Holiday. Soaking up the party atmosphere and enjoying the activities and entertainments on shore ahead of the main event when the 11 Extreme 40s took to the water for the opening salvo of the stadium racing: “Today was really impressive, seeing all these people here in this Stadium racing format that really brings the competition to the public,” said Antón Paz, Spain’s Olympic gold medalist sailing with Team Extreme skippered by Roland Gaebler. “It puts more pressure on us while we race, but at the same time it’s really encouraging to hear the applause from the crowds when we finish. Sailing against such high level sailors helps everyone to improve their game. When Roland Gaebler started racing the Tornado, I was just ten years old! He is an example to me and it’s great to come back to multihulls after my experience in the Tornado.”

A light sea breeze dominated the opening day of this penultimate round of 2011 bringing tricky and challenging conditions for the teams – some found their groove, others didn’t… It was a day requiring good tactics and a bit of luck: “When conditions are like this it’s all about trying to keep the boat moving and looking for the best piece of wind,” said Ben Ainslie. “The wind is more important than where you are heading, so we try to head for the best wind patches.”

Perhaps Ben Ainslie and his team on Oman Air will be the most satisfied team tonight finishing at the top of the leaderboard. After a frustrating and difficult round in Nice, France just 10 days ago, the Omani team will be bolstered by their performance today in similar light airs: “It was really tough conditions today,” continued Ainslie. “We normally like to have more wind so for everyone it was hard, but we did well and the harbour of Almería is fantastic. The team was great in very difficult conditions. To make this work you need to plan ahead, to have good communication and the guys I am sailing with on Oman Air are fantastic.” The three-time Olympic gold medalist, and super competitive, Ainslie joined the Extreme Sailing Series circuit for three events – Almeria will be his last and he is obviously fired up to do well here before returning to his 2012 Olympic campaign in the Finn class.

The French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild – victors in Nice and current leaders of the 2011 Overall Championship points table – put in a good solid performance, finishing inside the top three in all but one of the races today. Pierre Pennec’s men seemed more assured and less pressured than they were in Trapani and Nice. Another strong performance today came from the Kiwi team of Emirates Team New Zealand. “Today was just about avoiding the big mistake really and to come out of the day without losing too many points on the overall leaders,” said Adam Beashel. “We kept it quite simple as much as we could.” Beashel replaces Dean Barker as helmsman for the third time here in Almeria, and today’s results showed that Beashel is finding his form in this competitive Extreme 40 class, lying 3rd on the leaderboard after day one.

Ian Williams and his Team GAC Pindar crew scored a win in the fourth and final race today and made good work of the light airs, using their gennaker to maximum effect even on the upwind legs, ending the day in fourth. The Austrian Olympic duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher came out with guns blazing, scoring two consecutive second places and they looked to be strong, as they were in Nice in the early stages. But they ran out of time to complete the penultimate race, which ultimately cost them a few places in the standings.

Max Sirena’s team on Luna Rossa were mid-fleet or thereabouts for most of the afternoon but the Italians won’t be too concerned at this early stage – they know there is a long way to go and a lot of points to play for still. The other Italian team skippered by Alberto Barovier’s Niceforyou could have ended the day much higher in the standings if it hadn’t been for a last place in the final race, and once again, Leigh McMillan’s team on The Wave, Muscat struggled in the light airs. The Swiss team of Alinghi also didn’t to find their form today whilst the new multi-national team headed up by Alex Schneiter enjoyed their first foray in the class scoring a 7th place in two of the races: “What a day!” enthused Schneiter. _“We’ve been a little bit shy at the beginning to try to get into the rhythm. We don’t have any sporting ambition here, we just want to learn as fast as possible, have a lot of fun and get as close as possible with those top sailors! It’s not everyday that you can race against such a bunch of sailors.”_

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after 4 races (12.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 39 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 31 points
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Ray Davies / Jeremy Lomas / Derek Seward 30 points
4th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brad Webb 30 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 28 points
6th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 26 points
7th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 20 points
8th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 18 points
9th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 14 points
10th Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter / Boet Brinkgreve / Charles Favre / Nicolas Heintz 14 points
11th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Antón Paz / Tom Buggy 13 points

Extreme Sailing Series Almería a partir de mañana

Fuente info ESS

11th October 2011

Act 8, Almeria Kicks Off Tomorrow

Under the protection of Almeria’s famous landmark, the Alcazaba fortress that nestles above the bustling Spanish city, the 11 Extreme 40 racing machines are ready to race in Act 8, the penultimate round of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series™.

The WEBcam will be streaming coverage of the Stadium racing live during the event (see the schedule below).

Some of the teams have been out training today on the official practice day including the new multinational team, Team TILT, led by Swiss multihull specialist Alex Schneiter, three-time of the Bol d’Or. He may find some familiarity between his M2 multihull light-wind lake racing to the prevalent light winds in Almeria today. Also out training was Spanish Tornado Olympic medalist Antón Paz with Team Extreme. Paz won gold at the Beijing Olympics and will be a great asset to Roland Gaebler’s team, a fellow Tornado Olympic bronze medalist.

Almeria has been the setting for the final over the last two years and many of the sailors know the venue well: “This event has offered some pretty spectacular and very close racing particularly inside the harbour here,” said Leigh McMillan, skipper of The Wave, Muscat. “With any kind of wind it can be full-on boat on boat battling. I think it’s inevitable that we will get some full-on situations in the stadium racing.”

Tomorrow is a Spanish National Holiday and the Extreme 40 fleet will be racing inside the port of Almeria to give the local holidaying public a taste of the stadium action to come. Although there will not be stacks of breeze over the next couple of days, by the weekend a good gradiant breeze and some gusty conditions will have developed, squeezed out of a high pressure located over Central Europe and a low pressure system developing near Sicily and extending over Tunisia and eastern Algeria. Setting the stage for some great final ‘stadium’ racing over the weekend.

One boat that always gets noticed by the crowds is Red Bull Extreme Sailing, who finished 7th in Almeria in 2010, with the team displaying a stunning turn of speed in the breeze. For this Act, Matt Adams, coach to the team, returns as trimmer. A diverse sailing career spanning match racing, TP52s, Fastnet Race and Figaro racing, Adams knows the team well and will fit into their talents perfectly. You can also find out why his nickname is “Little Boy Blue”! Watch the ‘Nicknames’ video here

The French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild now lead the 2011 Overall Extreme Sailing Series, after the victory at the last round in Nice, just 2 points ahead of the Italian team Luna Rossa helmed by Paul Campbell-James who was at the helm of The Wave, Muscat when they claimed overall victory last year in Almeria. For the teams in contention for the overall 2011 title, the penultimate event is all about setting them up for the final battle in Singapore. For others, that dream may be over but the final rankings will still be hotly contested: “Having come back so well in the last three events in the overall standings, we might have thrown away realistically the chance of fighting for the overall win,” concluded McMillan. “That one event in Nice was pretty tough. But in reality, we have already far exceeded what we thought we could achieve this year and even if we can get back in contention with the leaders, it is really about racing well and that is all we have set ourselves to do here.”

WEBcam from Almeria – Schedule:

Wednesday, 12th October
Live stadium race coverage between 1445-1800 CET

Thursday/Friday, 13th/14th October
Post ‘open water’ racing analysis with the sailors

Saturday/Sunday, 15th/16th October
Live stadium race coverage between 1445-1800 CET

Extreme 40 crew list for Almería:

Alinghi
Skipper/Tactician: Tanguy Cariou (FRA) / Helm: Yann Guichard (FRA) / Trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI) / Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI)

Emirates Team New Zealand
Skipper/Helm: Adam Beashel (AUS) / Tactician: Ray Davies (NZL) / Trimmer: Jeremy Lomas (NZL) / Bowman: Derek Seward (NZL)

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
Skipper/Helm: Pierre Pennec (FRA) / Traveler: Christophe Espagnon (FRA) / Trimmer: Thierry Fouchier (FRA) / Bowman: Hervé Cunningham (FRA)

Luna Rossa
Skipper/Tactician: Max Sirena (ITA) / Helm: Paul Campbell-James (GBR) / Trimmer: Alister Richardson (GBR) / Bowman: Manuel Modena (ITA)

Niceforyou
Skipper/Helm: Alberto Barovier (ITA) / Tactician: Stefano Rizzi (ITA) / Trimmer: Daniele De Luca (ITA) / Bowman: Simone De Mari (ITA)

Oman Air
Skipper/Helm: Ben Ainslie (GBR) / Tactician: Kinley Fowler (NZL) / Trimmer: David Carr (GBR) / Bowman: Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)

Red Bull Extreme Sailing
Skipper/Helm: Roman Hagara (AUT) / Tactician: Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT) / Trimmer: Matt Adams (GBR) / Bowman: Craig Monk (NZL)

Team Extreme
Skipper/Helm: Roland Gaebler (GER) / Tactician: Nahid Gaebler (DEN) / Trimmer: Antón Paz (ESP) / Bowman: Tom Buggy (GBR)

Team GAC Pindar
Skipper/Helm: Ian Williams (GBR) / Tactician: Mischa Heemrskerk (NED) / Trimmer: Andrew Walsh (GBR) / Bowman: Brad Webb (NZL)

Team TILT
Skipper/Helm: Alex Schneiter (SUI) / Tactician: Boet Brinkgreve (NED) / Trimmer: Charles Favre (SUI) / Bowman: Nicolas Heintz (FRA)

The Wave, Muscat
Skipper/Helm: Leigh McMillan (GBR) / Tactician: Kyle Langford (AUS) / Trimmer: Nick Hutton (GBR) / Bowman: Khamis Al Anbouri (OMA)

Extreme Sailing Series Almería, penultima etapa del año

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

Fuente info ESS

6th October 2011

Countdown to Penultimate Act of 2011

The Spanish city of Almeria, in the region of Andalucia, will play host to Act 8 of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series™ from the 12th to 16th October – the perfect setting for the penultimate Act of the 2011 series which will bear witness to the passions of the 11 Extreme 40 teams as they battle for victory not only in Spain, but with a ‘strategic eye’ on the end game to claim overall victory in the 2011 series at the final event in Singapore.

For the last two years, Almeria has been the setting for the final event of the circuit and many of the sailors know the venue well. The Extreme Race Village is located in the Port of Almería, right in the heart of the city, and traditionally Almeria has delivered fantastic ‘stadium’ racing conditions – good breeze, intense competition, drama and plenty of close calls. It is the French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who now lead the 2011 Overall Extreme Sailing Series, after the victory at the last round in Nice, just 2 points ahead of the Italian team Luna Rossa helmed by Paul Campbell-James who was at the helm of The Wave, Muscat when they claimed overall victory last year. Luna Rossa skipper, Max Sirena, said: “We are still in the game being second for the 2011 championship. We need to do better in Almería to have a chance to win in Singapore.”

Spanish Tornado Olympic gold medalist and ISAF World Sailor of the Year in 2005 Antón Paz will race with Team Extreme on home soil with fellow Olympic bronze medalist Roland Gaebler as skipper: “I am really looking forward to returning to Almería after my first experience at the Extreme Sailing Series in 2009,” said Paz. “The stadium racing format is a real show and a big asset to our sport and Almería always welcomes the teams with open arms, so we hope the regatta will be a good one. I have sailed against Roland Gaebler many times but never with him, so it will be an honour for me to be part of his crew as he is a legend in Olympic sailing."

A new multinational team, Team TILT, will also race at the event, with Swiss multihull lake sailor Alex Schneiter as skipper. He will be joined by tactician Boet Brinkgreve (NED), trimmer Charles Favre (SUI) and bowman Nicolas Heintz (FRA). Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medalist will be skippering Oman Air again in his final Extreme 40 event before returning to his 2012 Olympic Finn campaign and Adam Beashel will be at the helm of Emirates Team New Zealand in place of Dean Barker.

Built and designed around its harbour, Almería has always looked to the sea. The city grew in terms of regional influence, and the most visible symbol of that golden era, the Alcazaba castle, is today the second largest Moorish fortress of Andalucía behind the legendary Alhambra in neighbouring Granada. The economic growth has been particularly spectacular during the 20th century with the development of extensive agriculture, Almería becoming one of Europe’s biggest orchards, while tourism certainly played an important part in the city’s expansion.

Hosting the Mediterranean Games in 2005 was an important step, and welcoming the Extreme Sailing Series for the third year is part of the regional government’s objective to position Almería as an international reference on the world map of sailing: “The Andalusian government wishes to bring to our region a series of top sporting events that give the tourism season continuity and generate a sport and tourism flow that has a clear positive economic impact for Andalucía,” said Luciano Alonso, Tourism, Trade and Sports Counselor for Andalusian government. “It is with great satisfaction that we welcome the Extreme Sailing Series to Almería again. This competition holds a clear advantage compared to other sailing events. All the action happens a few metres away from the spectators allowing the public to watch the competition from very close. I wish to invite everyone in Almería and those who love the sport of sailing to enjoy the regattas so the Port of Almería becomes a natural stadium for sailing.”

Extreme 40 crew list for Almería:

Alinghi
Skipper/Tactician: Tanguy Cariou (FRA) / Helm: Yann Guichard (FRA) / Trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI) / Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI)

Emirates Team New Zealand
Skipper/Helm: Adam Beashel (AUS) / Tactician: Ray Davies (NZL) / Trimmer: Jeremy Lomas (NZL) / Bowman: Derek Seward (NZL)

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
Skipper/Helm: Pierre Pennec (FRA) / Traveler: Christophe Espagnon (FRA) / Trimmer: Thierry Fouchier (FRA) / Bowman: Hervé Cunningham (FRA)

Luna Rossa
Skipper/Tactician: Max Sirena (ITA) / Helm: Paul Campbell-James (GBR) / Trimmer: Alister Richardson (GBR) / Bowman: Manuel Modena (ITA)

Niceforyou
Skipper/Helm: Alberto Barovier (ITA) / Tactician: Stefano Rizzi (ITA) / Trimmer: Daniele De Luca (ITA) / Bowman: Simone De Mari (ITA)

Oman Air
Skipper/Helm: Ben Ainslie (GBR) / Tactician: Kinley Fowler (NZL) / Trimmer: David Carr (GBR) / Bowman: Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)

Red Bull Extreme Sailing
Skipper/Helm: Roman Hagara (AUT) / Tactician: Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT) / Trimmer: Matt Adams (GBR) / Bowman: Craig Monk (NZL)

Team Extreme
Skipper/Helm: Roland Gaebler (GER) / Tactician: Nahid Gaebler (DEN) / Trimmer: Antón Paz (ESP) / Bowman: Tom Buggy (GBR)

Team GAC Pindar
Skipper/Helm: Ian Williams (GBR) / Tactician: Mischa Heemrskerk (NED) / Trimmer: Andrew Walsh (GBR) / Bowman: Brad Webb (NZL)

Team TILT
Skipper/Helm: Alex Schneiter (SUI) / Tactician: Boet Brinkgreve (NED) / Trimmer: Charles Favre (SUI) / Bowman: Nicolas Heintz (FRA)

The Wave, Muscat
Skipper/Helm: Leigh McMillan (GBR) / Tactician: Kyle Langford (AUS) / Trimmer: Nick Hutton (GBR) / Bowman: Khamis Al Anbouri (OMA)

Programme of Events:*

Wednesday 12 October (national holiday)
11.00-20.00 Race Village open
10.00-13.30 Educational sailing programme for children
11.30-13.30 Optimist and remote control boats racing
13.00 Opening ceremony
15.00-18.00 Stadium racing Extreme 40
18.30 Public presentation to the top boat of the day
19.00 Live music concert

Thursday 13 October (media day)
11.00-20.00 Race Village open
10.00-13.30 Educational sailing programme for children
12.00 Press conference at VIP Area
15.00-18.00 Open water and stadium racing Extreme 40
18.30 Public presentation to the top boat of the day
19.00 Live music concert

Friday 14 October
11.00-20.00 Race Village open
10.00-13.30 Educational sailing programme for children
15.00-18.00 Open water and stadium racing Extreme 40
18.30 Public presentation to the top boat of the day
19.00 Live music concert

Saturday 15 October
11.00-20.00 Race Village open
10.00-13.30 Educational sailing programme for children
11.30-13.30 Optimist and remote control boats racing
15.00-18.00 Stadium racing Extreme 40
18.30 Public presentation to the top boat of the day
19.00 Live music concert

Sunday 16 October
11.00-20.00 Race village opening times
10.00-13.30 Educational sailing programme for children
11.30-13.30 Optimist and remote control boats racing
15.00-18.00 Stadium racing Extreme 40
18.30 Act 8 Prizegiving

*Times/activities may vary

Find out more about Almeria here

Extreme Sailing Series 2011 Overall standings after 7 Acts
Position / Team / Points

1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 61 points
2nd Luna Rossa 59 points
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand 54 points
4th The Wave, Muscat 52 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing 49 points
6th Artemis Racing 48 points
7th Alinghi 48 points
8th Oman Air 38 points
9th Team GAC Pindar 21 points
10th Niceforyou 16 points
11th Team Extreme 15 points

ESS Niza día, triunfo para Groupe Edmod de Rostchild

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

Fuente info ESS

A Final Race of High Suspense Secures a French Victory on the French Riviera

OCTOBER 02ND 2011

The all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild celebrated victory today in Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ on home soil in Nice, France, only securing their win in the final moments of the final race. It was an incredible finish, played out in low wind speeds but with plenty of high drama. The thousands of spectators lining the famous Promenade des Anglais, the VIP guests and media were all enthralled by the tense finish…

The 11 international Extreme 40 teams competed in 29 races over five days of competition, at the Extreme Sailing Series debut in Nice with a mix of open water courses and stadium racing with the course was set just meters off the beach.

Going into a final double points race, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, skippered by Pierre Pennec, was in a dangerous position with the Swedish team of Artemis Racing trailing the French team by just three points. It meant that if Artemis Racing finished ahead of Pennec’s team, they could not afford to finish less than one place behind to guarantee victory. Terry Hutchinson’s team on board Artemis Racing, jumped the gun at the start, and had to re-start, as Groupe Edmond de Rothschild sailed away. Hutchinson’s crew made up swift ground and, unbelievably, got ahead of Pennec. The French team was clinging on, one place behind, only to incur a gybe penalty. Pennec’s team came out of the penalty but was it too late for them to get back in contention? From the shore it certainly looked to be the case but the French crowd kept on cheering to encourage the team to keep going. In the end, it was Britain’s Ben Ainslie who drove Oman Air across the finish line first to claim the final race win, but Groupe Edmond de Rothschild held their nerve and crossed the line just a few seconds and, importantly, just one place behind Artemis Racing. They had done it! Their second victory of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series, after their win in the inaugural act in Muscat, Oman, that also takes them into the overall lead in the 2011 series standings.

“I feel really happy especially about what we have achieved after the Cowes regatta,” said Pierre Pennec. “We have improved on onboard communication and how we work as a team. This is crucial moving into the end of the season because to win out of luck is good, but to win feeling that the level of our team has gone up a notch is even better. I don’t feel the pressure of being at the top of the leaderboard in the overall championship. I stopped giving myself a hard time after the events in Boston and Cowes. I think that the crew manages to reach a high level especially in the crucial races. I try to sail as best as I can in each Act and not to make mistakes and above all to think about each race, and not the overall result. I never said to myself that we were going to win here in Nice.”

It was a bitter pill for the Artemis Racing team to swallow, missing out on victory by just one point, especially for skipper Terry Hutchinson who missed out at the Boston, USA, event in a similar scenario against Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand.
The Swiss team of Alinghi completed the Act 7, Nice podium in third place holding off a challenge from the Italian Luna Rossa team: “Overall, third is a good result but we are a little disappointed,” said skipper Tanguy Cariou. “ We were better yesterday and I think that we had the potential to do better today but we lost the rhythm compared to Artemis Racing or Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, so congratulations to them.”
For three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie, skipper of Oman Air, who won the final race, he had a frustrating event even though the team managed to climb from 7th yesterday to finish 5th in the Nice rankings. Disappointed not to be on the podium as they were at Act 6 in Trapani, Ainslie will skipper the team again at the penultimate event in Almería.

Nicolas Legal was victor in the NeilPryde RS One Racing Series here in Nice, after a series of races staged off just the beach on the Bay of Angels over the weekend. For Jean-Pierre Dick who competed in his first Extreme 40 event as skipper of Team Extreme Cote d’Azur it was an experience he enjoyed even if the ‘stadium’ was much smaller than the round the world stage he normally competes on: “We had a lot of fun,” said Dick. “It was great to be here in Nice, in my hometown, surrounded by these top skippers.”

Jean Pierre Dick, skipper of Team Extreme Nice Côte d'Azur , 10th of the french Act © Lloyd Images
With seven of the nine-event world tour now completed, the skippers contending for the 2011 overall title will only have that on their minds at the penultimate event in Almería, Spain (12-16 October) and the final in Singapore (7-11 December) as Max Sirena, skipper of Luna Rossa, confirmed: “We are still in the game being second for the 2011 championship but we don’t feel very happy about our performance here in Nice. We need to do better in Almería to have a chance to win in Singapore.”

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 29 races (2.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 229 points
2nd Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant, 228 points
3rd Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 215.5 points
4th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 209 points
5th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 185 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 179.5 points
7th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Chris McAsey 163 points
8th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brian MacInnes 160 points
9th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 156 points
10th Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA), Jean-Pierre Dick / Jérémie Beyou / Billy Besson / Arnaud Jarlegant 119 points
11th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 118 points

Extreme Sailing Series 2011 Overall standings after 7 Acts
Position / Team / Points

1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 61 points
2nd Luna Rossa 59 points
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand 54 points
4th The Wave, Muscat 52 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing 49 points
6th Artemis Racing 48 points
7th Alinghi 48 points
8th Oman Air 38 points
9th Team GAC Pindar 21 points
10th Niceforyou 16 points
11th Team Extreme 15 points

ESS Niza día 4

Foto copyright Lloyd images

Fuente info ESS

30th September 2011

Stadium Racing Reshuffles the Act 7 Leaderboard as Artemis Racing Go into the Lead in Nice

The first day of ‘stadium’ racing of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 in Nice, France, reshuffled the leaderboard with Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing going from 5th place yesterday to 1st today, after winning four of the six races at the halfway point of the competition. For Red Bull Extreme Sailing who led over the first two days of ‘open water’ racing, it was the reverse as they tumbled to fifth, on a day they would rather put behind them ahead of the penultimate day tomorrow.

Act 7, Nice opened up to the public today and the crowds that gathered to watch along the Promenade des Anglais and on the beach enjoying the action that came within 10m of the shore – cheering loudly for the French teams of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and Team Extreme Nice Cote d’Azur.

Although Artemis Racing faltered in the first race of the day, running out of time to finish in the light airs, Hutchinson’s team with Nice born Julien Cressant on bow, bounced back to win the next race and went on to win three more as the sea breeze filled in. In the final race of the day, he gave Ian Williams a lesson in match racing forcing Williams to take the left-hand gate mark so Artemis Racing could round what he saw as the more favourable right-hand end. Enjoying better pressure on the final upwind leg, Hutchinson’s team got ahead, dropping a tack on Williams and accelerating away to victory. However, Artemis Racing bowman Julien Cressant remains pragmatic: “Now we are first but only by four points ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild so everything is tight and being first doesn’t mean anything in the Extreme Sailing Series where everything comes down to the last race for double points. We are taking one race at a time.”

Pierre Pennec’s all-French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild won the first race and although they didn’t get it all right today, finishing close to the back in three of the races, they did enough to hold onto their 2nd place ranking. “It is an open battle with the top five as the points difference is very small and the level is very high,” said Pennec. “Artemis Racing sailed very well today and their strength is the starts, but we also see that they can finish last, so anything can happen. We still have two race days to go and what matters is to keep a cool head and to be in the game at the end of each day.”

At the start of racing today on the Bay of Angels, the Italian team of Luna Rossa had a 2.5 point lead over Alinghi, tonight that position in reversed with the Swiss team skippered by Tanguy Cariou and driven by Yann Guichard gaining the upperhand by the same amount of points.

Britain’s Ian Williams and his team on Team GAC Pindar retain 6th place in the standings, finishing the final race in 2nd place – their best result of the day. “We are pleased that our performance picked up in this regatta,” said Williams. “We’ve had new sails fitted for Nice and I think that has made a big difference in our performance so we are pleased to have had a consistent day and to be in sixth place. Because we rotate our crew we always start a little slow while we are getting to know each other and we always improve as the regatta goes on and we are starting to get the crew mechanics going again. Once everyone gets comfortable in their positions that means that we can all get the head out of the boat more and start making better decisions.”

The Emirates Team New Zealand, led by Dean Barker, got back on track scoring a 2nd and two 3rd places in the opening races which was enough to elevate them up the rankings by two places. However, Ben Ainslie on Oman Air drop one place to 8th – the rookie skipper in Trapani, he is finding it hard going here but racing against the more experienced Extreme 40 skippers, it’s not surprising. It is Oman Air’s stablemate, The Wave Muscat who are really struggling. Leigh McMillan’s team was the first team to win two events this season – Cowes and Trapani – and seemed to be on a roll. But the light air Mediterranean conditions seem to have thrown them off course. Can this team get back in the game going into the penultimate day?

The Extreme Sailing Series always delivers intense and close racing whatever the conditions, with the high scoring system providing plenty of points still to fight for over the final two days of stadium racing here in Nice.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 18 races (30.9.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant, 134 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 130 points
3rd Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 124.5 points
4th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 122 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 115.5 points
6th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brian MacInnes 113 points
7th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Chris McAsey 100 points
8th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 97 points
9th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 84 points
10th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 80 points
11th Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA), Jean-Pierre Dick / Jérémie Beyou / Billy Besson / Arnaud Jarlegant 77 points

ESS Niza día 2

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

Fuente info ESS

29th September 2011

Into Stadium Racing Tomorrow as the Pressure Builds at Act 7, Nice

Austrian skipper, Roman Hagara, managed to fight off the challenges of his competitors to keep Red Bull Extreme Sailing at the top of the leaderboard on the second day of Act 7, Nice – but only by 1.5 points! Tomorrow Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series opens to the public of Nice, the racing moves closer to shore in ‘stadium’ mode and the WEBcam feed goes live online (see more info below)…

Today’s action began in the morning with the 11 Extreme 40 teams sent out to race early to take advantage of the north-westerly gradient breeze from the land. Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie, scored his first race win in Nice, and Paul Campbell-James at the helm of the Italian team Luna Rossa claimed the other race before the breeze disappeared. But the afternoon’s racing session produced some ‘Pol Roger’ champagne sailing conditions! The breeze kicked in, windward hulls were flying, the racing was intense and, at times, too close to call. In the fourth race of the afternoon, Alinghi and Red Bull Extreme Sailing had a dead-heat: “That’s pretty incredible,” said Alinghi skipper Tanguy Cariou. “It is really unusual to see this kind of situation in our sport… It was a genuine photo finish like you see in athletics or cycling. We might need a video replay system soon! Even us onboard, we had no idea if we crossed the finish line before or after them.”

During today’s official press conference in front of the national and international media, the skippers described the racing as ‘intense and close’ – even more so in the light conditions. “It’s a real test of team work,”’ said Ben Ainslie. “When it’s windy it’s physical, in the light stuff it’s about taking a few deep breaths, suck it in and get the results you need.”

The first three races this afternoon were raced in a typical Mediterranean light sea breeze with Max Sirena’s Italian team Luna Rossa finding their form that was missing yesterday, to secure two further wins; and Team GAC Pindar skipper, Ian Williams, clearly worked out a winning strategy, which he explained at the press conference – avoid the wind shadow of the other boats – to claim a race win and the team’s performance today has put them mid-leaderboard.

The final race of the day decided the overall standings ahead of the ‘stadium’ racing. Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing team nailed the start, judged the lay lines bang on, pulling out a good lead on the Swiss team of Alinghi, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were in third and Red Bull Extreme Sailing fourth on the final downwind leg with Luna Rossa chasing in fifth. The positions remained unchanged at the finish which allowed Hagara’s to retain the overall lead. Whilst Luna Rossa made the biggest leap today into 3rd place in the rankings from 8th yesterday. “We had a great day,” said Paul Campbell-James. “There is something about the second day of the regattas for us, it’s when we seem to have a great day. And today was really shifty and a really hard course. We are not out of the game at the moment which is the most important thing at this stage, and it’s all to play for tomorrow. Stadium racing in one of the most beautiful venues we’ve been to. The beach is packed, the VIP area is nice and close, it will be great.”

Pierre Pennec’s all-French team remain 2nd in the rankings, courtesy of their third place. Ben Ainslie on Oman Air is only 1 point ahead of his stablemate Leigh McMillan and the crew on The Wave, Muscat who seem to be struggling here: “It’s about adapting to the different conditions quickly, getting off the start line well and we’ve not done that here,” said McMillan. Team Extreme Nice Cote d’Azur skippered by Jean-Pierre Dick now find themselves at the bottom of the overall ranking behind the Italians team of Niceforyou. But the ‘rookie’ team who had a great day yesterday was always realistic about their chances here racing against the more experienced and highly competitive top-level sailors.

Tomorrow, Act 7 will open to the public of Nice. The racing will be brought closer to shore so the spectators can see the fleet in action up close, with live commentary in French and English (catering for the tourists on the Promenade des Anglais!) and a live WEBcam feed for online fans around the world [just click on the WEBcam banner on the home page of the website to open the viewing window]. The Race Village with its retail outlets and animations opens daily; and tomorrow 49er teams will join the action on the water. On Saturday and Sunday the NeilPryde Racing Series starts with 20+ windsurfers competing here on the Bay of Angels. There will be plenty of moves on and off the water, as well as on the leaderboard over the coming days…

The Talent Arrives in Nice – check out the day 1 video from Nice – super talented and super competitive.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 12 races (29.9.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 90.5 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 89 points
3rd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 88 points
4th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 85.5 points
5th Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant, 84 points
6th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brian MacInnes 73 points
7th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 60 points
8th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 59 points
9th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Chris McAsey 56 points
10th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 54 points
11th Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA), Jean-Pierre Dick / Jérémie Beyou / Billy Besson / Arnaud Jarlegant 52 points

ESS Niza día 1, Red Bull al frente

Foto copyright LLoyd Images

Fuente info ESS

28th September 2011

Red Bull Extreme Sailing on Winning Form on Opening Day of Act 7, Nice and ‘Local Boy’ Does Good!

Light winds dominated the opening day of Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Nice. The beautiful resort in the heart of the French Riviera provided plenty of sunshine and sparkling Mediterranean waters for the 11 Extreme 40s to commence their battle for supremacy. Roman Hagara’s team on Red Bull Extreme Sailing dominated the day, but the surprise result came from Nice-born local hero, Jean-Pierre Dick. Before racing began, Dick who is helming Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur in the colours of his home city, said: “We haven’t trained much and, to be honest, we will do our best but we are realistic about what we can do. I have a little bit of knowledge of racing multihulls but I am an ocean sailor. My ‘stadium’ is normally much bigger than this!” His humility was expected but not, as it turned out, was his team’s performance on the water…

The four Extreme 40 races were set in an ‘open water’ configuration today on the Bay of Angels to make the most of the conditions, but still close enough for the sunbathers basking on the beach to get a glimpse of these 40-foot catamarans as the Extreme Sailing Series makes it debut in Nice. Act 7 opens to the public on Friday through to Sunday which will see the fleet racing in ‘stadium’ format as close to the Promenade des Anglais as possible.

Jean-Pierre Dick and his crew consisting of 2011 Solitaire du Figaro winner Jérémie Beyou as tactician, trimmer Billy Besson and bowman Arnaud Jarlegant called the right tactics and found boat speed when needed to score a 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishing the end of day one in third place overall: “My first day on an Extreme 40 was great and with a good result,” said Dick. “We had a lot of fun and didn’t expect to do as well as we did. It’s great to be here in Nice, in my hometown, surrounded by these top skippers. I can’t wait to move into Stadium Racing and to race in front of the public.”

The regular all-French fixture on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild skippered by Pierre Pennec, sailed consistently to score two 3rd places and a 4th, their worst result a 7th, to claim 2nd place overall, on equal points with their French rivals on Team Extreme Nice Cote Azur.

But without doubt, the top boat of the day was Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing. Hagara and his crew of Hans Peter Steinacher, the returning Will Howden and bowman Craig Monk won three out of the four races – clearly on form in the light and challenging conditions, and top the leaderboard going into the second day: “It was really hard today, we had almost no wind, a lot of sun and it was really hard to race these boats,” said Hagara. “But we went out really good at the start all the times, out of four starts we had one OCS but the other were really good. Then we were in the front of the fleet and it was easy for us. I like these wind conditions, always in the Tornado when it was light we were good.”

It wasn’t such a pretty story for Dean Barker returning to the helm of Emirates Team New Zealand. Their best result of the day was a 9th place leaving them firmly at the bottom of the rankings. And The Wave, Muscat, victors in Cowes and Trapani, also struggled in the light airs finishing the end of the day 10th place. McMillan was pragmatic both about the conditions and their chances: “It is going to be a really tough event especially because in lighter winds it becomes more of a lottery. We’ll do our best to keep sailing well but certainly there will be some different teams who are in the mix here and we’ll probably find out that there are some light air specialists here. Now we’re in the mix for the Overalls – we’ve done the hard work but it does get harder from here because the guys will be paying a bit more attention to us now and we’ve probably got to be more aware of people gunning for us.”

With only two points separating Alinghi and Niceforyou from Oman Air and Luna Rossa, the opening day is just a shakedown of what is to come over the next four days here in Nice.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France
Overall standings after 4 races (28.9.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 35 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 31 points
3rd Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA), Jean-Pierre Dick / Jérémie Beyou / Billy Besson / Arnaud Jarlegant 31 points
4th Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant, 29 points
5th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 24 points
6th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 24 points
7th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 22 points
8th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 22 points
9th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brian MacInnes 21 points
10th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 17 points
11th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Chris McAsey 8 points

La Extreme Sailing Series llega a Niza

Fuente info ESS

The Action Moves To Nice, France for Act 7

The Mediterranean, once again, provides the backdrop to the Extreme Sailing Series™ 2011 as the circuit rolls into Nice, France for Act 7 starting on Wednesday, 28th September to Sunday, 2nd October.

It was The Wave, Muscat skippered by Leigh McMillan who claimed victory at Act 6 in Trapani, Sicily last weekend, making it two wins in a row for the Omani team, after an intense and close final day. [Watch the Trapani highlights video here ] The team on board Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, skippered by Pierre Pennec, restored their confidence after a grueling Act 5 in Cowes, UK, to finish in 2nd place overall: “We’ve come a long way since the Cowes Grand Prix,” commented Pennec. “That’s especially true of my own mindset because our counter performance there was something I found very hard to digest. It was a bit of a battle with myself to make a comeback here and put the disappointment and bitterness to one side.”

The French spectators will be spoilt for choice on who to cheer loudest for with the all-French teams on board Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and offshore hero Jean-Pierre Dick, skippering Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur. Perhaps their allegiance will be more inclined towards Dick who was born in Nice and is revered for his offshore successes, including his emphatic victory in the 2010/11 Barcelona World Race. Jean-Pierre Dick will be taking on the role of skipper/tactician with 2011 Solitaire du Figaro winner Jérémie Beyou on the helm, supported by trimmer Billy Besson and bowman Arnaud Jarlegant.

If The Wave, Muscat became the first team in 2011 to score two Act wins, there is little doubt the other ten Extreme 40 teams will be desperate to secure a second victory themselves as the Overall Series stakes increase in the latter part of the series. Although the Italian team of Luna Rossa only finished in 4th place in Trapani, that result elevated them to top of the Overall Series leaderboard, just 1 point ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with The Wave, Muscat in 3rd who are on equal points with Emirates Team New Zealand. Dean Barker will be back at the helm of the Kiwi team in Nice, and Terry Hutchinson will be driving Artemis Racing. Act 8 in Almeria, Spain will be the penultimate round with the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series concluding in December in Singapore. With only three Acts remaining, the teams focus is on the overall prize now.

A diverse international city rooted in history but looking towards the future, Nice is the capital city of the Côte d’Azur nestled between Cannes and Monaco in the heart of the French Rivera: “It will reinforce the already internationally well-known nautical tradition of Nice Côte d’Azur. It will offer a top quality race course in this natural frame that is our superb Baie des Anges. It will offer to both the locals and the numerous visitors a beautiful and great show only a few metres off the Promenade des Anglais. It is truly a rare show to watch these Extreme 40s race at high speed very close to shore. The very high level of this regatta is a guarantee to the great competition that our waters will witness over the course of five days. This is why I would like to thank once again the organisers for choosing Nice for one of the Acts in the circuit”, commented Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of Nice Côte d’Azur.

The Extreme Race Village will be located on the Promenade des Anglais, right in the heart of Nice with the race course set on the Bay of Angels, in front the shore, an unmissable location for the French public and English tourists.

In addition to the 11 Extreme 40s battling it out on the sparkling Mediterranean waters, the on-water action will be complemented by Optimist dinghies raced by local children, a multinational fleet of 49ers and for the first time the Neil Pryde Racing Series which will see twenty or more of the best professional and amateur windsurfers competing for the Nice title, including Olympic medalists Faustine Merret and Julien Bontemps.

The media partners of newspaper Nice Matin, who is printing an exclusive Extreme Sailing Series supplement, and France Bleu radio will ensure the public are kept informed of all the activities going on at the Race Village along with the commentary team of Pierre-Louis Castelli and Jimmy Pahun and Britain’s Hannah White keeping the English-speaking guests, tourists and online audience informed.

Once again, the Extreme Sailing Series WEBcam will deliver live pictures from the Stadium race course with commentary from Hannah White on the final three days of the event.

Act 7, Nice, Schedule of Events:

Wednesday, 28th September
14.00 ‘open water’ Extreme 40 racing

Thursday, 29th September
12.00 Press conference
14.00 ‘open water’ Extreme 40 racing

Friday, 30th September
10.00 Extreme Race Village opens to the public
10.00-12.00 Optimist fleet racing
11.30-13.30 49er fleet racing
14.00 Stadium Racing
17.30 Public presentation with Extreme 40 sailors

Saturday, 1st October
10.00 Extreme Race Village opens to the public
10.00-12.00 Optimist fleet racing
11.30-13.00 49er fleet racing
12.00-14.00 Neil Pryde Racing Series
14.00 Stadium Racing
17.30 Public presentation with Extreme 40, 49er sailors and windsurfers

Sunday, 2nd October
10.00 Extreme Race Village opens to the public
10.00-12.00 Optimist fleet racing
11.30-13.00 49er fleet racing
12.00-14.00 Neil Pryde Racing Series
14.00 Stadium Racing
17.30 Prizegiving Extreme 40, Optimist, 49er sailors and Neil Pryde Racing Series winners

Act 7, Nice Extreme 40 Crew Lists:

Alinghi
Skipper/Tactician: Tanguy Cariou (FRA) / Helm: Yann Guichard (FRA) / Trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI) / Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI)

Artemis Racing
Skipper/Helm: Terry Hutchinson (USA) / Tactician: Sean Clarkson (NZL) / Trimmer: Rodney Ardern (NZL) / Bowman: Julien Cressant (FRA)

Emirates Team New Zealand
Skipper/Helm: Dean Barker (NZL) / Tactician: Adam Beashel (AUS) / Trimmer: Jeremy Lomas (NZL) / Bowman: Chris McAsey (NZL)

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
Skipper/Helm: Pierre Pennec (FRA) / Traveler: Christophe Espagnon (FRA) / Trimmer: Thierry Fouchier (FRA) / Bowman: Hervé Cunningham (FRA)

Luna Rossa
Skipper/Tactician: Max Sirena (ITA) / Helm: Paul Campbell-James (GBR) / Trimmer: Alister Richardson (GBR) / Bowman: Manuel Modena (ITA)

Niceforyou
Skipper/Helm: Alberto Barovier (ITA) / Tactician: Stefano Rizzi (ITA) / Trimmer: Daniele De Luca (ITA) / Bowman: Simone De Mari (ITA)

Oman Air
Skipper/Helm: Ben Ainslie (GBR) / Tactician: Kinley Fowler (NZL) / Trimmer: David Carr (GBR) / Bowman: Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)

Red Bull Extreme Sailing
Skipper/Helm: Roman Hagara (AUT) / Tactician: Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT) / Trimmer: Will Howden (GBR) / Bowman: Craig Monk (NZL)

Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur
Skipper/Helm: Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) / Tactician: Jérémie Beyou (FRA) / Trimmer: Billy Besson (FRA) / Bowman: Arnaud Jarlegant (FRA)

Team GAC Pindar
Skipper/Helm: Ian Williams (GBR) / Tactician: Mischa Heemrskerk (NED) / Trimmer: Andrew Walsh (GBR) / Bowman: Brian MacInnes (CAN)

The Wave, Muscat
Skipper/Helm: Leigh McMillan (GBR) / Tactician: Kyle Langford (AUS) / Trimmer: Nick Hutton (GBR) / Bowman: Khamis Al Anbouri (OMA)

Extreme Sailing Series Trapani, triunfo para The Wave Muscat

Foto copyright Lloyd Images

Fuente info ESS

18th September 2011

Act 6: Two wins in a row for The Wave, Muscat as Stadium Sailing action delights Italian fans in Trapani and on TV

Leigh McMillan’s team on The Wave, Muscat made it two in a row winning Act 6 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Trapani on the back of their Act 5 win in Cowes, UK. It was an incredibly close finish to Act 6 – after 34 races in total, The Wave, Muscat took it with 283 points [11pts for a race win], just 9 points ahead of the French team Groupe Edmond de Rothschild on 274, and Oman Air, with Ben Ainslie at his first Extreme Sailing Series regatta, in third on 266.5. A mere 3.5 points behind were Max Sirena’s Luna Rossa, and only three points behind them Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing. The compensation for Sirena and British helmsman, Paul Campbell-James, is that Luna Rossa’s result here elevates them to the top of the 2011 Overall Extreme Sailing Series leaderboard, 1 point ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothshild.

Today’s eight races delivered the best stadium action of Act 6 with 17+ knots of breeze and the Extreme 40 fleet finish box directly in front of the spectators, generating spontaneous applause from them with the action just metres away. The highlight came at the finish of the fourth race of the day when Red Bull Extreme Sailing, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and Luna Rossa charged into the finish area under gennaker, hulls flying, neck and neck fighting for the lead at the ultimate gybe mark to the line. Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing dived in on the inside and got a nose ahead, the three boats made the tight hand-brake turn launching themselves for the finish line set just 20m away. There was no room for a photo finish – the line was only wide enough for two boats but Hagara held his nerve and his miniscule lead to cross first ahead of Pierre Pennec’s team. This was the Stadium Sailing that the Extreme Sailing Series is known for at its very best.

Going into the final double-points race, four boats were still in with a chance to claim victory with just 8.5 points separating The Wave, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and Oman Air – Luna Rossa was adrift by 14.5 points but mathematically it was still possible. In the end, Red Bull Extreme Sailing claimed the race win but Leigh McMillan’s team kept their nerve to finish 2nd and clinch victory: “It has been the toughest week we have had, well one of the toughest weeks I have ever had on the water,” said McMillan. “Everyday we have been grinding it out trying to get some good races, we are thrilled to have won in Trapani and somehow we have won two in a row. I thought it would go to Alinghi or Oman Air. Alinghi started off really well and Oman Air have been incredible all through the week, right on the pace. So to actually have managed to beat both of them as they were pushing us all the way is great.”

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were struggling in the first half of the Act but slowly found their form: “I am happy, much better than in Cowes, as we did a good job. But still we have to improve,” said bowman Hervé Cunningham. “It would be easier for us if we started well and stayed in the top of the leaderboard from day 1 but it’s not happening. We are all really happy we managed to sneak into second position on the leaderboard. We all said this morning that there was no pressure and we would stick to our plan, focus on ourselves and we would see how it goes, and it went well! The level of the fleet is still rising so we must focus and keep improving to sail the best we can.”

Ben Ainslie at the helm of Oman Air once again demonstrated how quickly he has got a handle on these boats and raced strongly throughout the afternoon, only a poor start in the final race was the team’s undoing: “I’ve have really enjoyed it,” said Ainslie. “We have a lot of improvements to make and I am just learning the ropes, the guys are fantastic and have pulled me through. It’s great to be in the top three for my first event.”

For the Italian team of Luna Rossa, the favourites of the crowd here and positioned as favourites to win Act 6 by many of the pundits, but Trapani didn’t go the way skipper, Max Sirena, had hoped: “It is what it is,” said a disappointed Sirena. “We are going to spend this week working out what went wrong so we can work out what we need to improve.” A bit harsh on himself perhaps considering how close it was going in to the final race.

In the penultimate race the Swiss team Alinghi, who had led Act 6 for the first two days and were performing well, was involved in a port/starboard collision with Team GAC Pindar resulting in serious damage to the transom, and requiring a swift haul-out by crane. Tanguy Cariou’s team was given redress and they retained their 6th place in the overall rankings.

The Sicilian town of Trapani has welcomed the Extreme Sailing Series with open arms for a second year in a row. An estimated 35,000 people enjoyed the top level sporting event on the water, with many more visiting the Extreme village for the evening entertainment. The event also showcased local kids racing in the Optimist Marinepool regatta and two Olympic 49er teams going head to head, the 5th man guests got the ride of their lives today and the Race Village was packed every night to watch the bands and dance acts on the main stage.

It has been a memorable Act here in Trapani, next stop is Nice for Act 7 between 28th September to 2nd October. Artemis Racing will be back and Team Extreme will be racing under the colours of the city of Nice with solo offshore ace Jean-Pierre Dick at the helm.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 6 at Trapani supported by Telecom Italia
Overall standings after 34 races (18.9.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 283 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 274 points
3rd Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 266.5 points
4th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 263 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 260 points
6th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 256.9 points
7th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Richard Meacham / Rob Waddell 206.5 points
8th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Pierluigi De Felice / Andrew Walsh / Ed Smyth 171 points
9th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Lorenzo Mazza / Simone de Mari 161 points
10th Team Extreme ‘Sailing Seacily’ (EUR), Sebbe Godefroid / Patrick Demesmaeker / Jan Coppens / Vince Thery 145 points

Extreme Sailing Series 2011
Overall standings after 6 Acts
Position / Team / Points

1st Luna Rossa 51 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 50 points
3rd The Wave, Muscat 49 points
4th Emirates Team New Zealand 49 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing 43 points
6th Alinghi 39 points
7th Artemis Racing 38 points
8th Oman Air 31 points
9th Team GAC Pindar 17 points
10th Niceforyou 15 points
11th Team Extreme 13 points